You
can get a free credit check when you get a copy of your free
credit report. A credit report provides prospective creditors
(and in some cases employers and insurers too) with a detailed
picture of your credit history. Your credit report can influence
whether you will receive what you are applying for. You can
get a free credit check and find out what your credit report
says about you before financial institutions do.
A
free credit check is recommending for a number of reasons.
Ideally, your credit report is accurate and up-to-date reflection.
However, since we don't live in an ideal world, there are
many reasons that your credit report could contain inaccuracies
that might prevent you from receiving the credit you deserve.
Your free credit check will allow you to identity any inaccuracies
and help you avoid any major problems.
The
good news is you can take action to keep your report accurate.
Here are the top five reasons why you should make a practice
of regularly reviewing your credit report and getting a free
credit check.
Your
Free Credit Check will help you with the following:
Inaccuracies
& Mixed Credit Files
Many
inaccuracies on a credit report can be the result of simple
human error, and therefore are not difficult to dispute. Of
course, if you don't order your credit report and get a free
credit check, you might never know about it. Whether the inaccuracies
relate to payments not credited, late payments, or data mixed
in from the credit file of someone else with a name similar
to yours, you will want to contact the credit bureau to dispute
inaccurate information that you find during your free credit
check.
Tracking
Payments
One
of the most important elements of credit is a demonstrated
history of on time payments. Once you send the check though,
anything can happen--a delay in the payment being received
can kick you over to a 30-day delinquency. If you call your
creditor and explain the situation, they might adjust the
information. Of course, if you don't read your credit report
or get a free credit check, you won't necessarily know which
payments are being received and reported properly.
Identity
Theft
This
issue alone is reason to order your credit report and get
a free credit check immediately. Identity theft is an insidious
crime, involving a thief who assumes your name to open new
accounts, divert your card statements to another address,
and run up all sorts of bad debt without you ever knowing
about it until collectors come calling. Over time, identity
theft could jeopardize your ability to obtain further credit.
The best way to catch a thief who is using your name is by
getting a copy of your credit report and getting a free credit
check, which will show you if there are accounts listed you
know you haven't opened. For example, if a thief has intercepted
a pre-approved credit card offer in your name and sent it
in with a change of address, your free credit check will include
the account.
Inquiries
If
you're shopping around for a loan or more credit, you should
know that when creditors check your credit, it places an inquiry
on your credit report. Inquiries can add up, which is often
interpreted as a negative by creditors. For this reason, too
many inquiries can actually make getting credit more difficult.
Moreover, if you didn't authorize someone to look at your
credit report and they did, they may have broken the law.
If you would like to see who's been looking at your credit,
get a copy of your credit report and a free credit check right
now.
Credit
Fraud--Unauthorized Charges
Credit
fraud involves the theft of your credit card or account number
to make unauthorized charges to your account. Though consumers
are protected financially from this abuse, other creditors
may take note of all this activity and decide to raise your
interest rates or refuse to grant you a loan. Ordering your
credit report and getting a free credit check will help you
catch new activity on accounts that you haven't been using,
or may have closed.
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